Composite stainless-steel panic exit case



July 4, 1961 H. A. EICHACKER ET AL 2,991,107

COMPOSITE STAINLESS-STEEL PANIC EXIT cAsE Filed June 25, 1958 Tg5 MME/M ATTORNEY Uni@ Se@ lpwfsif i` 2,991,101 t, COMPQSITE STATNLESSrSTEEL PANIC EXIT CASE Homer A- Eiclwcker and 1.01m" R Foster, .Indianapolis 'Il nl., assignorstq Vonnegut Hardware Company, Ingllallapolrs, Ind, a .crpoatim Tof Idari" i Filed 314.11 2515953, Ser; N017444150 whims," rc1. 1292--92) The present invention relates to an improved construction oa'case for a panic exit as sembly'and more particularly relates to a composite, partially stainless ste'el, oonstruction for a panic exit case which makes possible the use of stainless steel asthe onlyV visible material 'ina panic exit assembly. f f

In the past, panic exit assemblies have been manufactured from' brass, bronzesirnilar materials. *Itis desirable that such assemblies be fonne'df'at least ontL wardly, of stainless steel beca-use of its non-tarnishing pleasing appearance; however, the cases of 'the panic exit assembly (the members which aelflxed Ito the door'and which pivotally carry the panic bar) are so forlnedvin ternally and externally thatfthey are prohibitively expensive -to cast and commercially Fimpracticable lto forge out of stainless Steel.Y A 'A A It is, therefore, an objectY of the present invention to provide a constructionwwhich'makesjpossible forming all of the external visible surfaces of a case for la panic exit assembly'out of'stainfless steel in an inexpensive and easy manner. 'v Y A Still further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds. f 'Y To the accomplishment of the above and related objects,

illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated. Y FIG. 1 is' a side elevation of a panicexit assembly embodying the present invention, shown rotated counterclockwise 9.0 degrees from the position in which itsis normally attached to Ya door and having certain parts `thereof broken away torshowj certain internal structure; FIG. 42 isV a bottom view of portions of the panic exit assembly of FIG. l, having portions thereof brokenaway to'show certaininternal features of the assembly; FIG. 3 fis a section looking in the direction of the anrws `and lalong the `line 3 3 of FIG. l, and showing certain internal features of a latch assembly forming'a pforti'onof the panic exit assembly; yand FIG. 4 is a section looking in the direct-ion ofthe arrows and along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and showing certain features ynf a means for attaching the panic exit asf sembly Yto fa door. Referring 4now tothe drawings, we have illustrated a panic exit assembly, indicated generally at 10, which comprises a panic bar 11 extending in a direction perpendic-l ular to "they plane of the drawing -andnxed at one end to a rocker arm 12 which is pivotally mounted upon -a case, indicated `generally by the numeral '1,6. The other end of the-*panic bar 11 is xed to another rocker arm (not shown) similar to the rocker arm 12, which other rocker arm is also pivot-ally mounted upon a case (not shown) generallyV sirnilar'to the case 1-6. The rocker arm 12 extends `intothe case 16 inY such a manner that, when the Vrockerlarrn 12 is pivoted clockwise `as viewedinllG. `1, entre @which 11eme a .pvrtqntof @.latllfassstnbly, iadatsgenefll et? .1.;5 and mounted within the case 16.

The other, not shown, case of the panic exit assembly conventionally mounts and houses a relatively powerful ro ICC 2 spring means for yieldably holding the panic bar 11 and associatedlrocker arrnsin a raised, counter-clockwise position,as viewed in PIG. l, whereby the latch'bolt 17 is allowed to remain in a protruding position. Duringvthe following description of the invention, it will become apparent that the invention can Vbe used in either of vthe cases of a panic exit 'assembly no matter whether the case provides a housing and mounting for a latch assembly, for a relatively powerful spring means for holding Ythe bar in a raised position, `for both of these', for other panic'exit operating mechanism, or `for any combination of the above.`

In the past, "the case 16 has been formed in such a manner that a bracket 22 is integral therewith so that the internal surfaeesof the case 16 provide a mounting for the |latch-assembly 15. As can be seen from'the drawings, the bracket'22is relatively thick and heavy and the` internal construction of the case '16 must alsobe relatively v'th-,ick and" heavy with l'various ridges and bumps to provide a suitable mounting rfor the Latch assembly A15. In our invention, the case 16 is formed of three separable pieces, namely, lthe bracket 22, a shell 21 and'a chassis, indicated generally by the numeral 20. The `shell 21,'vvhich is generally of elongated cup-shape, has a thin, relativelyl constant thickness throughout and isrelati'verly easy to manufacture from stainless steel, preferably by a drawing operation. The bracket 22, even though it isthick'and heavy, is of a compact shape and therefore is also relatively easily manufactured Ifrom kstainless steel, either by casting or byl forging.y The chassis 2l) which contains a plurality of ridges and other projectionsfor mounting of the latch assembly 15 is not visible to the eye and therefore may be formed of brass or 4any other suitable, easily cast or Iforged material. The'elongated cup-shaped shell 21 has, opposite the principal opening 23` of the cup-,shaped shell, a base wall 24, which` has fixed thereagainst, in a manner to be explained below, the bracketl 2,2. A side wall 18 extends completelyarouhd ftheshell .21 and has an edge 27 which forms a boundary for the opening 23 and is'norfmally xedin engagement with a door upon which the panic exit assembly `is mounted. i

The'chassis 20 is fixe-d within the shell 21 byvmeans of a .pair of hollow screws, indicated generally by `the numfer'als 25-'25, having 'inwardly .and outwardly tapering heads 264-26. The hollow portion ofeach screw"is `formed for receiving a hexagonal wrench, `which `may `be operatively engaged within ,the portion 28 of the hollow portion of the particular screw 25, Zfor turning the screw so as lto attach or'release the chassis 20 Yto or Yromtgh'e lshell y21.- It will `be apparent that'thehollow portion lof each of the screws 25 is yalso formed so as VAto receive another tapered headed screw 29 lfor attaching the panic exit assembly to a door. It will be noted from the dnawings that the inward tapering rportionof the .head of the screw 25'is` shaped in such a manner las tol receive the tapered headed screw 29 which may be composedv of stainless steelas are the other visible portions of the present panic exit assembly. i Y

The `bracket 22 has a pair of generally cylindrical projections`j34-34 (one shown in FIG.` l), eachuof which has Aa suitable threaded ibore therein for reception of one of a pair of screws S15-33. `The screws .7f3-f3.3, which extend through bores 44-44in the chassis p20, hold the bracket 22 against thebase `.wall 24 of the shell 21 b y lixing the projections 34-134 within'suitable openings in the shell V21 within counterbores in lthe chassis 20. v i V' fern ,che illustrated embodiment of .our avendo, .an open `centered, generally rectangular latch retractormein ber 30 is slidably received between four elongated ridges 31--31 integral with, and projecting from, the chassis 3 20. The latch bolt 17 is pivotally mounted upon a trunnion pin 35 so as to normally protrude from an opening 19 in the side wall 18 of the shell 21 but may be retracted within the shell 21 by means of a projecting hook-like portion 36 of the latch retractor member 30 which engages a piu 37 ixed within the latch bolt 17. The latch bolt 17 is urged to its normal protruding position by means of a pair of springs 42-42 which are received between the latch retractor member 30 and the terminal heads 41-41 of a pair of parallel pins 40-40 and about the pins 40 which are received in suitable bores within the latch retractor member 30. The springs 42 force against the heads of their respective pins 40 causing the heads of the pins to force against a surface 43 of the chassis 20 and to cause the latch retractor member 30 to be moved rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 3.

A cam member 45 is pivotally mounted upon a post 46 integral with and extending from the chassis 20. The

cam member 45 may be actuated by a finger 47 integral with and projecting from the rocker arm 12, which is pivotally mounted upon trunnion means 50 fixed to the bracket 22. When the cam member is so actuated, it forces against a camming surface 51 on the latch retractor member 30 to move the latch retractor member 30 leftwardly, as viewed in FIG. 3, thus retracting the latch bolt 17. The rocker arm 12 extends through an opening 53 in the bracket 22 and through an opening 52 in the base wall 24 of the cup-shaped shell 21, the openings 52 and 53 being in registry with one another.

A cover plate 5S, only partially shown in FIG. 2, and which may provide a mount for means (not shown) operated from the opposite side of the door from the side upon which the panic exit assembly is mounted for independently actuating the latch retractor member 30 to retract the latch 17, is xed to the chassis by means of a plurality of screws 56 threadedly received within threaded bores 57-57 in ridges 58--58 forming a part of the chassis 20. A screw 60 having a hollow hexagonal shaped socket 61 for reception of a Wrench for turning the screw, functions as a dog for holding the rocker arm 12 in such a position that the latch bolt 17 is held retracted, if desired. 'I'he hollow hexagonal portion 61 of the screw 60 is accessible through a cylindrical opening 62 in the side wall 18 of the shell 21.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a panic exit assembly, a stainless steel, cupshaped shell, a chassis formed for mounting a latch assembly thereon, said chassis having a plurality .'Otf threaded apertures therethrough, an equal plurality of hollow screws extending through said shell and into said threaded apertures and fixing said chassis within said shell, the hollow portions of said plurality of screws being formed for reception of a means for turning said screws and also formed for reception of a further equal plurality of screws for fixing the panic exit assembly to a door.

2. A panic exit assembly comprising a stainless steel, cup-shaped shell of relatively constant thickness, said shell having a base wall and a side wall and having an opening in its base wall and an opening in its side wall, a chassis formed for mounting a latch assembly thereon, said chassis being fixed within said shell, a latch assembly, including a latch bolt, mounted upon said chassis, said latch bolt normally protruding through the opening in the side wall of said shell, a stainless steel bracket xed to the outer surface of the base wall of said shell and having an opening registering with the opening in the base wall of said shell, and a rocker arm pivotally mounted upon said bracket and extending through the opening in said bracket and the opening in said base wall for actuating said latch assembly to retract its latch bolt.

3. A panic exit assembly comprising a stainless steel, cup-shaped shell of relatively constant thickness, said .4 cup-shaped shell having a base wall and a side wall and having an opening in its base wall and an opening in its side wall, a chassis formed for mounting a latch assembly thereon, said chassis having a plurality of threaded apertures therethrough, an equal plurality of hollow screws extending throughl said shell and into said threaded apertures and yfixing said chassis within land to said shell, the hollow portions of said plurality of screws being formed for reception of a means for turning said screws and also formed for reception of a further equal plurality of screws `for fixing the panic exit assembly to a door, a latch assembly mounted upon said chassis and having a latch bolt normally protruding through the opening in the si-deof said shell, a stainless steel bracket fixed to the outer surface of the base wall of said shell and having an opening registering with the opening in said base wall of said shell, and a rocker rarm pivotally mounted upon said bracket and extending through the opening in said bracket and the opening in said base wall for actuating said latch assembly to retract its latch bolt. v v

- 4. A panic exit assembly comprising a stainless steel, cup-shaped shell of substantially constant thickness, said shell havingv a base wall provided with port means and a side wall having an opening therethrough, a separate chassis received in said shell, said chassis being formed 0n one surface with a` socket arranged, when said chassis is so received, to register with a portion of said port means and said chassis being further formed to receive and support a latch assembly including a latch retractor member supported from the opposite surface of said chassis, a latch bolt supported Ifrom said chassis, normally protruding through said side wall opening of said shell and having an operative connection with said latch retractor member, a stainless steel bracket formed to pro- -vide a surface conformably engageable with the external surface of said shell wall and having stud means penel trating said port means and seated in said socket, screw means penetrating said chassis and threadedly engaging said stud means to secure said bracket in place on said shell, said bracket further being formed with an opening therethrough registering with a portion of said port means and said bracket further providing trunnion mounting means, and a rocker arm pivotally supported from said trunnion mounting means and having a portion extending through said bracket opening and said port means into operative engagement with said latch retractor member.

5. In a panic exit assembly, a stainless steel, cupshaped shell of substantially constant thickness, a chassis formed for mounting panic exit operating mechanism thereon, said shell being formed with a plurality of spaced openings therethrough and said chassis being provided with a plurality of threaded bores registering, respectively, with said openings when said chassis is received within said shell, a hollow, flare-headed screw Ifor each such bore, each screw penetrating its opening, threadedly seating in its bore and being disposed with its flared head securely engaging the periphery of its opening to secure said chassis in place in said shell, and a further screw passing axially through each of said hollow screws to secure said assembly to a door.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,213,105 Hurd Jan. 16, 1917 1,500,167 Voight July 8, 1924 1,545,176 Whyte July 7, 1925 1,564,030 Soemer Dec. 1, 1925 2,854,838 Foster Oct. 7, 1958 2,858,157 Eichacker Oct. 28, 1958 

